a semiotic analysis on kim addonizio’s … semiotic analysis on kim addonizio’s poems based . on...

A SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS ON KIM ADDONIZIO’S POEMS

BASED ON C. S. PEIRCE’S THEORY

A Thesis

Submitted to letters and humanities faculty

in partial fulfillment of the requirement for

The Degree of Strata one

ANDRI HERMAWAN

104026000884

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT

LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY

STATE OF ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY”SYARIF

HIDAYATULLAH” JAKARTA

2010

ABSTRACT Andri Hermawan, A Semiotic Analysis on Kim Addonizio’s Poems Based on C. S. Peirce’s Theory. Thesis: English Letters Department, Letters and Humanities Faculty, State Islamic University (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, 2010.

The objectives of this study are to find out the use of symbol in the Kim Addonizio’s poem. This study applied library research and the compiled data were analyzed through descriptive analysis method. This method tried to describe, explain, and analyze the using of symbol using semiotic theory by Charles Sanders Pierce. The unit of analysis of this research was the three of Kim Addonizio’s poems. They were chosen because they were containing of symbols.

For the semiotic analysis, the writer marked the data by choosing literary works that were containing of symbols; all literary work were the three of Kim Addonizio’s poem; reading the literary work intensely, and classifying the data that were containing symbol; categorizing that symbol, so that could be understood each other; in categorizing all data, the writer put them in the table by synchronizing each symbol with each poem; interpreting the meaning of that symbol.

After analyzing the symbol, it could be concluded that each poem contain of different symbol with different meaning and function. And these differences had given the different ideas. From the semiotic analysis of the three poems, Verities, First Poem For You, and What Do Women Want, mostly, Kim Addonizio would like to convey the ideas about sadness, love, sexuality, freedom, and equal right.

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APPROVEMENT

A SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS ON KIM ADDONIZIO’S POEMS BASED

ON C. S PEIRCE’S THEORY

A thesis

Submitted to letters and humanities faculty

in partial fulfillment of the requirement for

The degree of strata one

ANDRI HERMAWAN

NIM. 104026000884

Approved by;

Advisor

Drs. A. Saefuddin, M. Pd

NIP. 10641710 199303 1 006

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT

LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY “SYARIF

HIDAYATULLAH” JAKARTA

2010

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LEGALIZATION

Name : Andri Hermawan Nim : 104026000884 Title : A Semiotic Analysis on Kim Addonizio’s Poems Based on C. S.

Peirce’s Theory

The thesis has been defended before the Faculty Letters and Humanities’ Examination Committee on Augustus 10, 2010. It has been accepted as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of strata one.

Jakarta, Augustus 10, 2010

The Examination Committee Signature Date

1. Dr. H. Muhammad Farkhan, M.Pd (Chair Person) _________ _________ 19650919 00003 1 002

2. Drs. A. Saefuddin, M.P.d (Secretary) _________ _________ 19640710 199303 1 006

3. Drs. A. Saefuddin, M.Pd (Advisor) _________ _________

19640710 199303 1 006

4. M. Supardi, M. Hum (Examiner I) _________ _________

5. Danti Pudjianti, MM., M. Hum (Examiner II) _________ _________ 19731220 199903 2 004

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my

knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by

another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the

award of any other degree or diploma of the university or other institute of higher

learning, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the next.

Jakarta, Augustus , 2010

Andri Hermawan

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

بســـــم اهللا الرحمـن الرحيــــم

In the name of Allah the most Gracious and the most Merciful

All praise and gratitude are to Allah SWT, the lord of the universe for his

guidance in completing this thesis. May blessing and salutation be upon the most

honorable prophet and messenger Muhammad saw, his families and all of his

followers.

The main thing that the writer wants to convey, this thesis is dedicated to

his beloved mother (Uum Herawati) who never tired of loving her children, the

most patient woman who became inspiration for the writer to keep fighting for the

sake of looking good pleasure of Allah. And for his father in heaven (Aceng

Ruhatma) that although the author could no longer see, but his prayers are always

felt at any moment, revive the spirit comes when tired and also for the most

beautiful woman, the angle in his heart (Neng N’ca Khoirunnisa), the writer

apologizes for the delay of this thesis; her patience waiting for the completion of

this thesis became a force for the writer to always keep fighting despite many

obstacles ahead.

The writer also would like to express his gratitude to the following person:

1. Dr. H. Wahid Hasyim, M. Ag, the Dean of the Faculty of Adab and

Humanities

2. Dr. Muhammad Farkhan, M. Pd, the Head of the English Letters

Department

3. Drs. Asep Saefuddin, M. Pd, the Secretary of the English Letters

Department and the advisor of the writer.

4. All of the lecturers in English Letters Department for teaching him very

well during his study at UIN Syarif Hidayatullah.

5. All of his beloved family, his little brother “Irvan”, his uncles: “Drs.

Dadang Darussalam SH. MH, Ahmad Jamaluddin S. Pd, Dudung Abdul

Haris, Upi Mukhtar Lutfi, Mamah Kusmayanti, Lilis Marliah, Ela Hayati

Sanusi, for all the valuable support, in terms of financial and prayer.

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6. All of his Bestfriend, Faza “gery”, Iyonk, Agus “Cibo”, Monk ‘FFS”, Yadi

“Daenk”, Deni Romdoni (alm), Ayoet, Kang Atoe, Toink, Azuba, Asep

‘om” Muhdiyar’, Suhe “alam”, really you are the best friends that the

writer ever had.

7. Classmates at BSI ‘04, Hendi Abog, Akromi SS, Jaelani SS, Tb Faisal,

Tasripin, for all the time that passed together to reach the dream comes

true, and also those who cannot be mentioned one by one.

Jakarta, Augustus 2010

The writer

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TABLE OF CONTENT

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................... i

APPROVEMENT .......................................................................................... ii

LEGALIZATION .......................................................................................... iii

DECLARATION ............................................................................................ iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................. v

TABLE OF CONTENT ................................................................................. vii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................. 1

A. Background of The Study ............................................................... 1

B. Focus of The Study .......................................................................... 4

C. Research Questions ......................................................................... 5

D. Significance of The Study ............................................................... 5

E. Methodology of Research ................................................................ 5

1. Objective of Research .......................................................... 5

2. Method of Research ............................................................. 6

3. Instrument of Research ........................................................ 6

4. Unit of Analysis ................................................................... 6

5. Technique of Data Analysis ................................................. 6

CHAPTER II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ..................................... 7

A. Definition of Poetry ......................................................................... 7

B. Definition of Semiotics ................................................................... 9

C. Definition of Symbol ....................................................................... 12

D. Semiotics Theory of C. S. Peirce .................................................... 14

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH FINDINGS .................................................... 19

A. Explication and Symbol Analysis of Verities ................................. 19

B. Explication and Symbol Analysis of First Poem For You .............. 23

C. Explication and Symbol Analysis of What Do Women Want ........ 30

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viii

CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION .............................. 36

A. Conclusion ....................................................................................... 36

B. Suggestion ....................................................................................... 37

BIBLIOGHRAPHY ....................................................................................... 38

APPENDICES ................................................................................................ 40

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

A work of literature, like a painting, is a work of art. It is an object that

embodies thoughts and feelings; study of it can increase our understanding of

exactly what it is and can deepen our response to it.1 Literature is human personal

expression in the form of experience, thoughts, feeling, ideas, enthusiasm, and

conviction in the concrete description by using language. Studying literature is the

same as studying human being because literature is the reflection of the social

process of human beings. There are some ways to express ideas, especially in a

literary work. There is a literary work that brings us to the world of dreams and

takes us away from reality. It has to be contrasted with a literary work that needs

our interpretation.

Literary work consists of two types, namely imaginative and non-

imaginative. Both literary works are basically the same that is both are expressed

aesthetically, but they have a different in expression. Imaginative type is

commonly using connotative sentence to express an idea, while non-imaginative

type is more realistic than the imaginative one. It uses denotative sentence. Non-

imaginative type consists of essay, criticism, biography, autobiography, history,

memoir, diary, and letters. And imaginative type consists of poetry, fiction, and

1 Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing about Literature, Fifth Edition (Boston: little, brown and company, 1985), p. 9.

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drama. In this paper, the writer takes poetry as an object that will be further

analyzed.

Poetry as a kind of literary work is a reflection of poet’s thought and

feelings. Poems are like the fingerprints of the poet. They tell you what the poet

was thinking, what frame of mind he or she was in. Poets are in love with words.

The gift of language makes us human, and poets make the fullest of it. We might

call poetry language at its best: poets use its full potential, using more of it to

better advantage than we usually do. They often seem to write a heightened sense

of awareness, with a special intensity. Poetry mobilized the image-making

capacity of language. It delights the ear and stirs our emotions. It has potential, if

we let it, of making us more thoughtful human beings.2 Poetry often uses

particular forms and conventions to suggest alternative meanings in the words, or

to evoke emotional or sensual responses. One of the devices is symbolism. The

use of symbol often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations.

Richard Abcarian states “A symbols in poetry, however, usually mean

something more precise. In poetry, a symbol is an object or event that suggest

more than itself. It is one of the most common and most powerful devices

available to the poet, for it allows him to convey economically and simply a wide

range of meanings.3 A rose, for example, can represent beauty or love or

transience. A tree may represent a family’s roots and branches. A soaring bird

might stand for freedom. Light might symbolize hope or knowledge or life. These

2 Hans P. Guth and Gabrielle L. Rico, Discovering Literature: stories, Poem, Plays, (New Jersey: A Blair Press Book, 1997), p. 469. 3 Richard Abcarian and Marvin Klotz, Literature: The Human Experience, (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1980), p. 701.

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and other familiar symbols may represent different, even opposite things,

depending on how they are deployed in a particular poem. Natural symbols like

light and darkness, fire and water can stand for contradictory things. Water, for

example, which typically symbolizes life (rain, fertility, food, life) can also stand

for death (tempest, hurricanes, floods). And fire, which often indicates

destruction, can represent purgation or purification. The meaning of any symbol,

whether an object, an action, or a gesture, is controlled by its context.4 A final

word of symbols. If a reader fails to recognize a symbol, he has missed an

important part of the poem’s meaning.5

Kim Addonizio was born in Washington, D.C., on July 31, 1954, as one of

five children of Pauline Betz Addie, a U.S. tennis champion in the 1940s, and Bob

Addie, a sportswriter for the Washington Post. She fell in love with poetry and

read her work at open mike around the city Addonizio moved to San Francisco,

California, in 1976, where she worked in a succession of jobs as secretary,

waitress, and office clerk. She began writing poetry in her twenties. She earned a

Bachelor of Arts degree from San Francisco State University when she was

twenty-eight years old, in the same year that her daughter was born. She has

published four collections: The Philosopher’s Club, Jimmy & Rita, Tell Me, and

What Is This Thing Called Love. Addonizio has also authored two instructional

books on writing poetry: The Poet's Companion (with Dorianne Laux), and

Ordinary Genius: A Guide for the Poet Within, both from W.W. Norton.

4 Robert DiYanni, Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama (NewYork: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc, 2009), p. 569. 5 Richard Abcarian and Marvin Klotz (1980), op. cit. p. 702.

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This research is chosen because the writer is interested in studying

literature. By reading literature work automatically can develop our knowledge

and science and can arrange the works that are chosen by the author. Besides that,

the writer can also get the author’s feeling or experiences from the object of the

research in Kim Addonizio’s poem. After reading and explicating the poems, the

writer can give some information concerning with the poems through the working

of symbol in building each poem. Because the reader of this research can get an

understanding of more general aspect through it such as human character, love,

relationship, behavior, and massage of life. The writer educated a research

concerning with the meaning analyzing of symbol of Addonizio’s poem. As we

know that symbol is something you can see but that has taken on a meaning

beyond itself.6 To support the study, the writer reviewed the reference material

such as books and other references. The writer used the structure of semiotic as an

approach in this research.

Realizing the fact above, the writer decided to do as good as possible in

the research entitled “A Semiotic Analysis on Kim Addonizio’s Poems Based on

C. S. Peirce’s Theory”

B. Focus of the Study

The writer limited the problems on the meaning analyzing of symbol of

Kim Addonizio poem; Verities, First Poem For You, and What Do Woman Want.

Those three poems had been chosen by the writer because all of them were

containing of symbol.

6 Hans P. Guth and Gabrielle L. Rico (1997), op. cit. p. 578.

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C. Research Questions

According to the focus of study, the researcher limits it by formulating the

research questions as follows:

1. What symbols does Kim Addonizio utilize in her poems?

2. What are the meanings of symbol from those analyzed poems?

D. Significance of the Study

This study has significance for the students, especially for the process of

learning the Department of English studies in state Islamic University (UIN)

Jakarta. This study is meant to encourage the students to study more about

literature and linguistic. And this study gives information concerning the poem

through the implicit meaning of symbols.

E. Methodology of Research

1. Objective of Research

The purpose of this study is to grasp a content of the poem, find

out the description, and the other objectives as follows:

a. To know the utilized symbols in the Kim Addonizio’s poem.

b. To describe the performance of semiotic expression in Kim

Addonizio’s poem.

c. To know the meaning of symbols that used in the following poem:

Verities, First Poem For You, and What Do Woman Want.

Moreover, the writer also wants to apply his ability in the poem by

appreciating and studying a work art based on theory from some other

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theories. Therefore, the writer can construct a study that connects the

literature and another science.

2. Method of Research

This research is a qualitative method which describes about

symbols on three Addonizio poems; Verities, First Poem For You, and

What Do Woman Want, and the meaning of those symbols. The writer

uses the theory of semiotic as an approach in this research.

3. Instrument of Research

The writer himself as an instrument and as the subject of research

by reading some books and other references. The writer as an instrument

through reading any supporting data resources and analyzing poem to

know the meaning of symbols on three Addonizio’s poems.

4. Unit of Analysis

The units of analysis in this research applied to be analyzed the

Addonizio’s poems which was written in her book of poetry, What Is This

Thing Called Love (2004); Verities, First Poem For You, and What Do

Woman Want, Those poems were containing of symbol that should be

analyzed by the researcher.

5. Technique of Data Analysis

All the data that have been included in this research are qualitative

data. The writer chooses literary works which contain of symbol, so the

writer explicates the poem and interprets the meaning of symbol.

CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

A. Definition of Poetry

Poetry is a form of literature that many readers hold in a special kind of

affectionate admiration. Poetry deals in matters beyond direct statement—in

meanings conditioned by emotional attitudes—and its intention is to evoke the

full flavor and impact of experience. Poetry often achieves its effect by the

selection of words that are suggestive not only of sensory experience but of

emotional attitudes.1

Poetry might be defined as a kind of language that says more and says it

more intensely than does ordinary language.2 It is an imaginative awareness of

experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so

as to evoke an emotional response. The good of poetry depends on the excitement

that leads to discovering the genuine. We can reach that goal only by full attention

to the poem, to its words and their meanings. Many readers will feel that they

have something to learn about improving their attentiveness about ways of getting

into a poet’s language and of entering more fully into the life of the poem.3

Robert Frost has said, “Poetry provides the one permissible way of saying one

1 Alton C. Morris, et al., Imaginative Literature, Fiction, Drama, Poetry (Florida: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc, 1968), p. 281.

2 Laurence Perrine and Tomas R. ARP, Sound And Sense: An Introduction To Poetry (Florida: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc, 1992), p. 49.

3 Reuben A. Brower, et al., Beginning With Poems: (New York: W. W. Norton And Company. INC, 1996), p. xxiii.

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thing and meaning another.” Words have their literal meaning, but they can also

be used so that something other than the literal meaning is implied.4

The poem gives us something to visualize, taking in with the mind’s eye.

It is as if our days like a piece of embroidery were stitched through with a

continuing thread of missing the other person. The poem does not just give us

information to feed into a data bank. We are capable of caring one way or the

other, we are capable of entering imaginatively into the poet’s feeling, or sharing

his sense of loss. Finally, the poem is printed as lines of verse.5

Poetry is the media to communicate what we felt, saw, and observed from

our environment and what we thought. Poetry can enchant and enthrall the readers

because it offers entertainment and understanding. How significant the role of

poetry, Shakespeare, praised in his sonnet that enclosed in the two last lines:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see So long lives this and gives life to thee.6

From that quotation we see that so long we live in this world, so long it

will be everlasting and will gives us the useful life, because the language of poem

is created as the reflection from good feeling and thinking. So the poem is the

media of thinking process or contemplation. The main objective of most poetry is

communication. You are trying to communicate your ideas and feelings to your

audience, or you are trying to entertain them. Admittedly, some poets write for

4 Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing about Literature, Fifth Edition (Boston: little, brown and company, 1985), p. 103.

5 Hans P. Guth and Gabrielle L. Rico, Discovering Literature: stories, Poem, Plays, (New Jersey: A Blair Press Book, 1997), p. 470.

6 Siswantoro, Apresiasi Puisi-Puisi Satra Inggris (Surakarta: Muhammadiyah University Press, 2002), p. 1-2.

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themselves alone and have no audience. Those who never show or read their

poems to another human being are the exception to this rule. But for the rest of us,

we are trying to communicate. Some of the suggestions were based on pure

communication principles, starting with the idea that there are four goals for

communicating: to inform, to entertain, to persuade, or to query.

In the poem “mirror” by Silvia Plath was the representation of the idea that

beauty lies in the hand of the perceiver. The mirror merely reflects the image to

the woman, but it is the woman herself who is judging. Furthermore, the candles

and the moon provide a vague image of the woman. They cast untrustworthy

shadows that hide her true image, and perhaps take away from some of the beauty

the woman may have. The candle and the moon are representational of self-

misconceptions and others expressing their harsh bias view.

B. Definition of Semiotics

The word semiotics derived from the Greek root, seme, as in semiotikos,

an interpreter of sign. Semiotic is the study of signs and symbol and their meaning

and the use, especially in the writing, or method to analyze the sign. Barthes

actually said, the semiotic basically want to discuss how human signify its things.

Cobley and Jansz also said “discipline is simply the analysis of signs or the study

of the functioning of sign systems.”7

One of the broadest definitions is that of Umberto Eco, who states that

‘semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign’ (eco 1976, 7).

7 Alex Sobur M.Si, Semiotika Komunikasi (Bandung: Remaja Rosda Karya, 2003), pp. 15-16.

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Semiotics involves the study not only of what we refer to as ‘sign’ in everyday

speech, but of only anything which ‘stands for’ something else. In a semiotic

sense, signs take the form of words, images, sounds, gestures and objects.

Contemporary semioticians study not in isolation but as part of semiotic ‘sign-

system’ (such as a medium or genre). They study how meanings are made and

how reality is represented. Semiotics is concerned with meaning-making and

representation in many forms, perhaps most obviously in the form of ‘text’ and

‘media’.8

Semiotics is divided into two kinds: semiotic communication and semiotic

signification. First is semiotic communication, the theory of sign production

which one assumes the fifth factors in communication: sender, receiver, massage,

media, and reference. So, actually, the semiotic communication is more about the

goals of communication. Second is semiotic signification, this term is more

important to discuss which the receiver’s cognitive process is having more

attention. The semiotic significant is usually used in poems, drama, or prose.

Here, the readers have to understand by themselves about the meaning of symbol

or sign used by author in his literary work.9

Semiotic tries to explain combination of sign which were the essential, the

character, and form of sign, and the process of its signification. Semiotic gives big

attention to everything that can be esteemed as a sign. One sign can be used as a

signifier that has the important meaning to substitute something else. There is

8 Daniel Chandler, Semiotics: The Basic (New York: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, 2002), p. 2.

9 Alex Sobur M.Si (2003), op. cit. p. 15.

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nothing considered except sign in semiotic, the study is about anything that has

related to sign, whether it is signifier, signified, how the sign can produce

meaning of the sign or anything else. Semiotic is one of the ways that

communication can be delivered.

According to Saussure, the sign is the whole that result from the

association of the signifier with the signified. The relationship between the

signifier and the signified is referred to as ‘signification’. A sign must have both a

signifier and a signified. We cannot have a totally meaningless signifier or a

completely formless signified. A sign is a recognizable combination of a signifier

with a particular signified.10

Signifier and signified represent two fundamental levels of language. The

term signifier refers to the concrete word of sound and the term signified, on the

other hand relates to the concept or idea expressed by the sound or icon. In other

word, the two levels of language are in a relationship reciprocal. Form and content

cannot be separated.

Semiotic is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign. A sign

is everything which can be taken as significantly substituting for something else

that doesn’t necessarily have to exist or to actually be somewhere at the moment

in which a sign stands for it. These are the fields of semiotics:

1. Analytic semiotics. This is semiotics, which analyze the system of

sign. Peirce explain that semiotic have object of the sign and analyzed

becomes idea, object, and meaning.

10Daniel Chandler (2002), op. cit. p. 19.

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2. Description semiotics. It is referred to the system of the sign that are

described as the real thing.

3. Zoo semiotics. It is referred to the system of the sign on the behavior

of non-human.

4. Cultural semiotics. Semiotics studies about the system of sign in the

culture of society.

5. Social semiotics. It is referred to the system of sign, produced by the

human who have being the form of symbol.

6. Narrative semiotics. It is referred to the system of sign on the

mythology and folklore narrative.

7. Natural semiotics. Semiotics studies the system of sign from the

nature.

8. Normative semiotics. It is referred to the system of sign made by

human being, which have the form of the norms.

9. Structural semiotics. This is semiotic which studying about the system

of sign through the language structure.11

C. Definition of Symbol

A symbol is a representamen whose representative character consists

precisely in its being a rule that will determine its interpretant. All words,

sentences, books and other conventional signs are symbols.12 For Peirce, a symbol

11 Mansoer Pateda, Semantik Leksikal, Edisi Kedua (Jakarta: PT Rineka Cipta, 2001), pp. 29-32.

12 Robert E. Innis, Semiotics: An Introductory Anthology (USA: Indiana University Press, 1985), p. 16.

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is “a sign which refers to the object that it denotes by virtue of law, usually an

association of general ideas, which operates to cause the symbol to be interpreted

as referring to that object”. In the Peirce’s concept, symbol is interpreted

according to a rule or a habitual connection. The symbol is connected with its

object by virtue of the idea of the symbol-using mind, without which no such

connection would exist.13

According to Perrine, “a symbol may be defined as something that means

more than what it is”.14 A symbol is, put simply, something that stands for

something else. The everyday world is full of common examples. Symbol in

poetry are said to be those words and groups of words that have a range of

references beyond their literal signification or denotation. Poems sometimes

create a symbol out of thing, action or event that has no previously agreed on

symbolic significance.15

Any ordinary words, as “give”, “bird”, “marriage”, are the examples of a

symbol. It is applicable to whatever may be found to realize the idea connected

with the word; it does not, in itself, identify those things. It does not show us a

bird, nor enact before our eyes a giving or a marriage but supposes that we are

able to imagine those things, and have associated the word with them.16

The symbol of language substituted one concept there was in our idea or

our thinking. A symbol may be private (its meaning known only to one person),

13 Daniel Chandler (2002), op. cit. p. 38. 14 Siswantoro (2002), op. cit. p. 38. 15 Jerome Beaty, et al., The Norton Introduction To Literature (New York: W. W. Norton

And Company, 2002), p. 43. 16 Robert E. Innis (1985), op. cit. p. 18.

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original (its meaning defined by its context in a particular work), or traditional (its

meaning defined by our common culture and heritage). At its most complexes, a

symbol may be all three. Some symbols are public symbols and contextual

symbols. Public symbols are those objects or events that history has invented with

rich meanings and associations. In a sense, then, a public symbol is a ready-made

symbol. In contrast to public symbols, contextual symbols are objects or events

that are symbolic by virtue of the poet’s handling of them in particular poem—

that is, by virtue of the context.17

D. Semiotics Theory of Charles Sanders Peirce

In this chapter, the writer uses theory from philosopher Charles Sanders

Peirce to find the answer of the research question. Peirce was born in 1839, he

was an American philosopher which more originality and multidimensional. One

of the most popularity was because of the theory of sign. In semiotic, Peirce often

said that generally the signs had substituted something for someone. For Peirce,

sign “is something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or

capacity. It addresses somebody, that is, creates in the mind of that person an

equivalent sign, or perhaps a more developed sign”18

Peirce formulated his own model of the sign, of ‘semiotic’ and of the

taxonomies of signs in a triadic (three-part) model:

1. The Representamen: the form which the sign takes.

17 Richard Abcarian and Marvin Klotz, Literature: The Human Experience (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1980), p. 701-702.

18 Alex Sobur M. Si (2003), op. cit. p. 41.

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2. An Interpretant: not an interpreter but rather the sense made of the

sign.

3. An Object: to which the sign refers.19

To use Peirce’s terminology, we can say that the sign, in the broad sense,

consists of three interconnected elements: (1) the sign in the narrow sense, also

referred to as the representamen, that which represents something else; (2) the

object, that which the sign stands for, that which is represented by it; an finally (3)

the (possible or potential) meaning the sign allows for, which may materialize as

its translation into a new sign. Peirce refers to this as the interpretant.20

These are best known as thrichotomy of Peirce theory. The thrichotomy

can be visualized in this triangle:

Representamen

Object Interpretant

Figure 1.The Process of Linguistic Sign

The interaction between the representament, the object and the interpretant

is referred to by Peirce as ‘Semiosis’. Within Peirce’s model of the sign, the

traffic light sign for ‘stop’ would consists of: a red light facing traffic at an

19 Daniel Chandler (2002), op. cit. p. 32. 20 Jorgen Dines Johansen and Suend Erik Larsen, Signs In Use: An Introduction To

Semiotics. Translator, Dinda L. Gorlee and John Irons (London: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, 2002), p. 26-27.

16

intersection (The Representament); vehicle halting (The Object) and the idea that

a red light indicates that vehicles must stop (The Interpretant).21 Described by

picture:

Representamen: A red light facing

Traffic at an intersection

Object: Interpretant:

Vehicle halting Vehicles must stop


Signs are divisible by three trichotomies; first, according as the sign in

itself is a mere quality, is an actual existent, or is a general law; secondly,

according as the relation of the sign to its object consists in the sign’s having

some character in itself, or in some existential to that object, or in its relation to an

interpretant; thirdly, according as its interpretant represents it as a sign of

possibility or as a sign of fact or a sign of reason.

According to the first division, a Sign may be termed a Qualisign, a

Sinsign, or a Legisign.

1. A Qualisign is a quality which is sign. It cannot actually act as a sign

until it is embodied; but the embodiment has nothing to do with its

character as a sign.

21 Daniel Chandler (2002), op. cit. p. 33.

17

2. A Sinsign is an actual existent thing or event which is a sign. It can

only be so through its qualities; so that it involves a qualisign, or

rather, several qualisigns.

3. A Legisign is a law that is a sign.

According to the second trichotomy, a sign may be termed an Icon, an

Index, or a Symbol.

1. An Icon is a sign which refers to the object that it denotes merely by

virtue of characters of its own, and which it possesses, just the same,

whether any such object actually exists or not. For example: a cartoon,

a portrait, and so on.

2. An Index is a sign which refers to the object that it denotes by virtue of

being really affected by that object. This category can include such

natural occurrences as smoke and fire, dark cloud and impending rain,

a human footprint and the presence of a human being, but it also

encompasses more consciously controlled meaning.

3. A Symbol is a sign which refers to the object that it denotes by virtue of

a law, usually an association of general ideas, which operates to cause

the symbol to be interpreted as referring to that object.

According to the third trichotomy, a sign may be termed a Rheme, a

Dicisign or Dicent Sign, or an Argument.

1. A Rheme is a sign which, for its interpretant, is a sign of qualitative

possibility, that is, is understood as representing such and such kind of

18

possible object. Or we may say that a rheme is a sign which

understood to represent its object in its character merely.

2. A Dicent sign is a sign, which for its interpretant, is a sign of actual

existence. Or a sign which is understood to represent its object in

respect to actual existence.

3. An Argument is a sign which, for its interpretant, is a sign of law. Or

we may say that is a sign which is understood to represent its object in

its character as sign.22

Here is the other example of semiotic process by triangle of Peirce. When

a girl wearing mini skirt, that girl was communicate about her self to others who

may interpret as a symbol of sexiness. Describes by picture:

Representamen Girl wearing mini skirt

Object: Interpretant: Girl wearing mini skirt Symbol of Sexiness


Based on the explanation about the semiotic of Peirce above, that the

function of essential of the sign make something efficiency. Usually semiotic of

Peirce used in the part of life, such as painting, architecture, sociology,

psychology, literature and communication in the society.

22 Robert E. Innis (1985), op.cit. p. 7-9.

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH FINDINGS

A. Explication and Symbol Analysis of Verities

VERITIES

Into every life a little ax must fall.

Every dog has its choke chain.

Every cloud has its shadow.

Better dead than fed.

He who laughs, will not last.

Sticks and stones will break you,

and then the names of things will be changed.

A stitch in time saves no one.

The darkest hour comes.

“Verities” was written in 2006 by Kim Addonizio, an American poet who

was born in Washington, D.C., on July 31, 1954. This poem “verities” is very

brief. Only nine short lines long, the poem captures, through the alteration of trite

phrases, the sad state of existence. Addonizio brings the reader into a sad

perspective of the world: a place where danger is just around the corner and

misery is waiting to prey upon an innocent victim. Even with its dismal subject

matter, Addonizio manages to invite the reader into the poem with one sweetly

cynical first line: “Into every life a little ax must fall”. The reader becomes

19

20

painfully aware of the presence of tragedy. Indeed, this line speaks to the

inevitability and sly away that misfortune seeps into an individual’s life.

Addonizio then moves into three fast paced statements that hit hard with

pessimism: “Every dog has its choke chain./ Every cloud has its shadow./ Better

dead than fed.” (Line 2-4) these three lines act as dirge to carry the reader into the

poems dark heart where Addonizio will reveal, with even greater cynicism, the

futility of existence. In essence, the poem itself is a verity; it is one statement

about life’s futility and darkness. And the poem’s length is a literal comment of

the brief nature of life.

As the media to communicate the ideas and feelings to audiences, this

poem analyzed based on four goals for communicating: to inform, to entertain, to

persuade and to query. Kim Addonizio used the symbols of silent thing and also

the symbol of society in this poem to bring the reader into a sad perspective of the

world. Verities, Ax, and Darkest Hour were the three symbols and each of them

has its own significance.

Those three symbols are considered to represent the Addonizio’s view of

sad perspective and disasters that occur in her world. Verities, Ax, Darkest Hour

are the manifestations of what Addonizio wants to convey in his poem until the

reader can clearly conclude and understand what Addonizio means.

The writer tried to interpret the utilized symbols in “Verities” by using

triadic-theory of semiotic process which are proposed by Charles Sanders Peirce

to know the meaning of symbol from this analyzed poem, they are;

representament, interpretant and object. The representament is the form which the

21

sign takes. An interpretant is not an interpreter but rather the sense made of the

sign. And an object is to which the sign refers.

Verities means a belief or principle about life, the world, that is accepted

as true, in this poem, Verities as the symbol of life’s futility. Addonizio reveals

her dark heart with cynicism and pessimism in every line of the poem signifies

that danger and misery are waiting to prey upon an innocent victim.

For these explanations, it can be described as follows:

Verities

(Representament)

An Innocent Life’s Futility

Victim

(Object) (Interpretant)


Explanation: The word “Verities” stands for a symbol which relates to an

innocent victim as its object. In Kim Addonizio’s poem, the meaning of the word

“Verities” is life’s futility (as interpretant). The dark heart with cynicism and

pessimism in every line of the poem reveals that Addonizio brings the reader into

a sad perspective of the world: a place where danger is just around the corner and

misery is waiting to prey upon an innocent victim.

22

Ax is a tool with a wooden handle and a heavy metal blade used for

chopping wood and cutting down trees, but in this poem, ax is representing a tinge

of violence. “Into every life a little ax must drop” (1st line) indicates that

something bad is imminent, that will happen in almost every line in this poem.


Ax

(Representament)

Individual’s Life Tinge of Violence



Explanation: The word “Ax” stands for a symbol which relates to

individual’s life as its object. In Kim Addonizio’s poem, the meaning of the word

“Ax” is tinge of violence (as interpretant). The first line of this poem indicates that

something bad is imminent.

Darkest hour means unpleasant and without any hope that something good

will happen, but in this poem, darkest hour is representing disaster or looming

calamity. “A stitch in time saves no one. The darkest hour comes.” (Line 8 & 9)

ironically, Addonizio’s altering “a stitch in time saves nine” serves as a numeric

23

orientation in the poem, both literally and figuratively. The poem has “nine” lines,

but no “one” can be save or disaster or “a stitch in time” will not saves anyone of

these lines from looming calamity.


Darkest Hour

(Representament)

Poem’s length Disaster or Looming

Calamity



Explanation: The word “Darkest Hour” stands for a symbol which relates

to poem’s length as its object. In Kim Addonizio’s poem, the meaning of the word

“Darkest Hour” is disaster or looming calamity (as interpretant). Kim Addonizio’s

altering “a stitch in time saves nine” serves as a numeric orientation in the poem.

The poem has “nine” lines, but no “one” can be save or “a stitch in time” will not

saves anyone of these lines from disaster or looming calamity

B. Explication and Symbol Analysis of First Poem For You

FIRST POEM FOR YOU

24

I like to touch your tattoos in complete

darkness, when I can’t see them. I’m sure of

where they are, know by heart the neat

lines of lightning pulsing just above

your nipple, can find, as if by instinct, the blue

swirls of water on your shoulder where a serpent

twists, facing a dragon. When I pull you

to me, taking you until we’re spent

and quiet on the sheets, I love to kiss

the pictures in your skin. They’ll last until

you’re seared to ashes; whatever persists

or turns to pain between us, they will still

be there. Such permanence is terrifying.

So I touch them in the dark; but touch them, trying.

“First Poem For You” was written in 2006 by Kim Addonizio, an

American poet who was born in Washington, D.C., on July 31, 1954. This poem

“First Poem For You” tells us about author’s true love. She is really scared to

show her love outright. The fact that she is in the dark could signify that she is

confused, possibly about their relationship. She seems glad to know that the

tattoos will last until death but scared to see if their relationship will eventually

become filled with pain and bitterness instead of the ‘love’ she is feeling now for

him. Because it is as terrifying as she mentions, she wants to shy away from

25

loving him but she tries regardless of the outcome. The tattoos seem to be easier

and less terrifying than the man, for they will never change but his love for her

could either for better or worst.

Addonizio also describes a relationship in her poem “first poem for you”,

in which her words unfold a vivid experience of someone that she has an intense

love connection. Her words reveal strong desire she has for this someone.

Through touch and memory, she is able to describe her experience in detail.

Addonizio’s passion is released by reminiscing back the time she spent with this

person. Her feelings are so strong that she is not afraid to free her words for the

world to see.



persuade and to query. Kim Addonizio used the symbol of nature and also the

symbol of society to compare the tattoos and poetry to love in a relationship.

Lightning, Water, Serpent and Pictures are four words that have a symbolic

meaning for the poem. For these four symbols has its own significance.

Those Symbols are considered to represent the Addonizio’s view of love

and tattoos on her boyfriend’s body which she was in a relationship with a guy.

Lightning and Water are the form of manifestation of the power of love that she

felt when her boyfriend stands beside her. Serpent and the Pictures are the form of

tattoo and masculinity of her boyfriend. The incorporation of those symbols will

produce a message about the relationship of strength and purity of love with

tattoos that exist in her boyfriend’s body.

26

The writer tried to interpret the utilized symbols in “First Poem For You”

by using triadic-theory of semiotic process which are proposed by Charles

Sanders Peirce to know the meaning of symbol from this analyzed poem, they are;




Lightning symbolizes power of love, the girlfriend of the guy with the

tattoos enjoys touching the tattoos when she is unable to see the guy. She knows

by heart just where the lightning is pulsing, “lines of lightning pulsing just above

your nipple, can find, as if by instinct” (1st stanza, lines 4-5), just like a person’s

heartbeat; a beat that can go faster or slower depending on the situation. It is

instinctive for the woman to know where every tattoo on the guy, just like in a

relationship, a person may know every mark or scar on the other’s body.


Lightning

(Representament)

Heartbeat The Power of Love



27

Explanation: The word “Lightning” stands for a symbol which relates to

heatrbeat as its object. In Kim Addonizio’s poem, the meaning of the word

“Lightning” is the power of love (as interpretant). It is her experience when being

a relationship with someone. In “First Poem For You”, Addonizio enjoys touching

her boyfriend’s tattoos when she is unable to see the guy. She knows by heart just

where the lightning is pulsing.

Water means a liquid without color, smell, or taste, but in this poem, water

is symbolizes pure love, that her boyfriend at her heart. “The blue swirls of heart

on your shoulder” (1st stanza, lines 5-6), the woman knows that just above his

shoulder are the blue swirls of water.


Water

(Representament)

Her Boyfriend’s Pure Love

Love



Explanation: The word “Water” stands for a symbol which relates to her

boyfriend’s love as its object. In Kim Addonizio’s poem, the meaning of the word

28

“Water” is pure love (as interpretant). In “First Poem For You” Kim Addonizio

knows that just above his shoulder are the blue swirls of water.

The serpent symbolizes the bravery, and it also shows he has no fear

against his enemies. We are able to identify the person through her detailed

description throughout the entire poem with the key words such as heart, pulsing,

nipple, and shoulder.


Serpent

(Representament)

Her Boyfriend’s Bravery

Body



Explanation: The word “Serpent” stands for a symbol which relates to her

boyfriend’s body as its object. In Kim Addonizio’s poem, the meaning of the

word “Serpent” is the bravery (as interpretant). In “First Poem For You” Kim

Addonizio knows that her boyfriend shows that he has no fear against his

enemies. Addonizio describes the boyfriend through her detailed description

29

throughout the entire poem with the key words such as heart, pulsing, nipple, and

shoulder.

Pictures symbolizes her boyfriend’s tattoos. “when I pull you to me, until

we are spent and quite on the sheets, I love to kiss the pictures in your skin” (1st &

2nd stanza, lines 7-10) means that she pulls him closer to her while they are lying

down and falling asleep, she expresses her love and care for him until there is no

more time left in the night, until it’s spent. Kiss the pictures in his skin means

kissing his tattoos.


Pictures

(Representament)

Her Boyfriend’s Tattoos

Skin



Explanation: The word “Pictures” stands for a symbol which relates to her

boyfriend’s skin as its object. In Kim Addonizio’s poem, the meaning of the word

“Pictures” is the tattoos (as interpretant). In “first poem for you” Addonizio shows

her love for her boyfriend by kissing the pictures in his skin.

30

C. Explication and Symbol Analysis of What Do Women Want

WHAT DO WOMEN WANT?

I want a red dress.

I want it flimsy and cheap,

I want it too tight, I want to wear it

until someone tears it off me.

I want it sleeveless and backless,

this dress, so no one has to guess

what's underneath. I want to walk down

the street past Thrifty's and the hardware store

with all those keys glittering in the window,

past Mr. and Mrs. Wong selling day-old

donuts in their café, past the Guerra brothers

slinging pigs from the truck and onto the dolly,

hoisting the slick snouts over their shoulders.

I want to walk like I'm the only

woman on earth and I can have my pick.

I want that red dress bad.

I want it to confirm

your worst fears about me,

to show you how little I care about you

or anything except what

I want. When I find it, I'll pull that garment

31

from its hanger like I'm choosing a body

to carry me into this world, through

the birth-cries and the love-cries too,

and I'll wear it like bones, like skin,

it'll be the goddamned

dress they bury me in.

“What Do Women Want” was written in 2006 by Kim Addonizio, an

American poet who was born in Washington, D.C., on July 31, 1954. This poem

“what do women want” tell us about women’s relationship to clothes, to have that

one little sexy dress they see at shop. This is a poem that asserts a lust for life in

the face of unstated social restrictions, but Addonizio tempers that lust with self-

depreciating humor and a vivid sense of environment and resilience. The speaker

is a woman who just wants to live and be herself.

She wants to celebrate her power over man, as if she were the last woman

on earth, choosing whomever she so desires, the word “you” in the poem here

may thus be taken to be men in general. She wants to show the men that she cares

little for them, and their worst fears of her are true.”...anything except what, I

want” (lines 20-21) emphasize that her desires are solely for herself only.

At the same time, because the emancipation of her desire seems to be tied

to that red dress, and what is signifies not just to her, but also her in relation to

men who presumably desire her in it, there almost appears to be a turning back to

the whole issue of women not being free to desire on their own, but are re-

32

circumscribed within men’s desires. The confidence that she exude inhere through

that red dress.



persuade and to query. In this poem, Kim Addonizio used the symbol of nature

and also symbol of society to describe the power of her sexuality, freedom, and

equality. Dress, sleeveless and backless, and garment are four words that have a

symbolic meaning for the poem. From these four symbols has its own

significance.

Those Symbols are considered to represent the Addonizio’s view about the

power of sexual in a piece of clothing that she wanted to possess, uses and shows

it to everyone. Those symbols are the form of manifestation of what Addonizio

wants to convey in his poem until the reader can clearly conclude and understand

what addonizio’s tells and conveys in her work.

The writer tried to interpret the utilized symbols in “What Do Women

Want” by using triadic-theory of semiotic process which are proposed by Charles

Sanders Peirce to know the meaning of symbol from this analyzed poem, they are;




Dress symbolizes speaker’s own desires of her strength and confidence.

Addonizio creates is as much about fantasy as it defiance. The rich detail of the

longed-for dress speaks volumes about a performative statement the speaker

33

wishes to make, but it is still just something that she wants, perhaps more than the

dress itself and therefore not yet a reality. Addonizio sets the context of her

speaker’s identity, what she wants is a sexy red dress and more than that, she

wants to fly in the face of moralistic convention, embracing her sexuality and

taking pleasure in the attention it brings, no matter what anyone else might think.


Dress

(Representament)

Speaker’s Sexuality The Desire of Strength

and Confidence



Explanation: The word “Dress” stands for a symbol which relates to

speaker’s sexuality as its object. In Kim Addonizio’s poem, the meaning of the

word “Pictures” is the desire of strength and confidence (as interpretant). In

“What Do Women Want” Addonizio sets the context of her speaker’s identity,

what she wants is a sexy red dress and more than that, she wants to show her

strength and confidence embracing her sexuality.

34

Sleeveless and Backless as the symbol of speaker who proud of her body

and wants to flaunt it as she saunters sexily down the street. There is a

combination of both feminist and feminine sensuality. Indeed, the dress should be

too tight, molding curves of her body, leaving nothing to the imagination, a dress

to kill, one thing that reduces men to slobbering fools.


Sleeveless & Backless

(Representament)

Feminine sensuality Proud of the Body



Explanation: The word “Sleeveless and Backless” stands for a symbol

which relates to feminine sensuality as its object. In Kim Addonizio’s poem, the

meaning of the word “Sleeveless and Backless” is proud of her body (as

interpretant). In “What Do Women Want” Addonizio wants to flaunt it as she

saunters sexily down the street.

Garment representing the speaker’s identity of her life. There is a kind of

dialectical relationship with the dress. That is also the dress she wants to be buried

35

in marks perhaps a change and shift in what the dress means. It suggests that the

dress is now as both her body and herself. Above all else, she wants to be herself

in whichever ways she chooses, in her own skin and also to be wanted as her very

own self and not as her body alone, her own desires and pleasure.


Garment

(Representament)

The Body Life’s Identity



Explanation: The word “Garment” stands for a symbol which relates to the

body as its object. In Kim Addonizio’s poem, the meaning of the word

“Sleeveless and Backless” is life’s identity (as interpretant). The symbol states

that the dress as both her body and her self together. Addonizio wants to be

herself in whichever ways she chooses, in her own skin, as it were; and also,

possibly, to be wanted as her very owns self, and not as her body alone. She wants

for her own self, her own desire and pleasure on her own terms.

CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

A. Conclusion

After having analyzed on Kim Addonizio’s poems, the writer concludes

some points, such as follows:

Poetry is a form of literature that many readers hold in a special kind of

affectionate admiration. And as kind of language that says more and says it more

intensely then does ordinary language.

A symbol is something that means more than what it is. Symbol in poetry

are said to be those words and groups of words that have a range of references

beyond their literal signification or denotation. Poems sometimes create a symbol

out of thing, action, or event that has no previously agreed on symbolic

significance.

Verities, First Poem For You, and What Do Women Want are three kind of

Kim Addonizio’s poems constructed by the symbol as one kind of intrinsic

element of poetry. In Verities, the appearances of symbol are represented by the

words Verities, Ax, and Darkest hour; in First Poem For You, the appearances of

symbol are represented by the words Lightning, Water, Serpent, and Pictures; in

What Do Women Want, the appearances of symbol are represented by the words

Dress, Sleeveless and Backless, and Garment.

The use of symbols in Verities is describes as sad perspective of the world.

The use symbols in First Poem For You is describes as to compare between the

36

37

tattoos and poetry to love in a relationship. The use of symbol in What Do

Women Want is describes as the power of her sexuality, freedom and equality.

Kim Addonizio almost uses the symbol of nature and also the symbol of

society and silent thing in her three poems. The writer utilize triadic-theory of

semiotic process which are proposed by Charles Sanders Peirce to know the

meaning of each symbol, they are; representament, interpretant and object. The

representament is the form which the sign takes. An interpretant is not an

interpreter but rather the sense made of the sign. And an object is to which the

sign refers.

Based on that triangle theory, we can possibly analyze from every side of

term, if we analyze from the representament, then the representament will explain

the object and the interpretant, and so on.

B. Suggestion

Based on those conclusions the writer hopes this study can contribute

supporting reference in analyzing work of literature through semiotic framework.

However this study is not perfect yet.

For the readers who are interesting to do same study about semiotic, the

writer suggests to take the theory of Peirce to find out the result of research.

Finally, the writer hopes that this study will be useful for the enrichment of

studying semiotic, especially in the English Department, Faculty of Letters and

Humanities, State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta.

BIBLIOGHRAPHY

Abcarian, Richard and Marvin Klotz. Literature: The Human Experience. New

York: St. Martin’s Press, 1980. Barnet, Sylvan. A Short Guide to Writing about Literature, Fifth Edition. Boston:

Little, Brown and Company, 1985. Beaty, Jerome, et al. The Norton Introduction To Literature. New York: W. W.

Norton And Company, 2002. Brower, Reuben, et al. Beginning With Poems. New York: W. W. Norton And

Company. INC, 1996. Chandler, Daniel. Semiotics: The Basic. New York: Routledge Taylor and Francis

Group, 2002. Dines, Jorgen Johansen and Erik Larsen, Suend. Sign In Use: An Introduction To

Semiotics. Translator, Dinda L. Gorlee and John Irons. London: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, 2002.

Di Yanni, Robert. Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. New

York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc, 2009. Guth, Hans and Rico, Gabriel. Discovering Literature: Stories, Poem, Plays. New

Jersey: A Blair Press Book, 1997. Innis, Robert. Semiotics: An Introductory Anthology. USA: Indiana University

Press, 1985. Morris, Alton, et al. Imaginative Literature, Fiction, Drama, Poetry. Florida:

Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc, 1986.

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39

Pateda, Mansoer. Semantic Leksikal, Edisi Kedua. Jakarta: PT Rineka Cipta, 2001.

Perrine, Laurence and Tomas R. ARP. Sound And Sense: An Introduction To

Poetry. Florida: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc, 1992. Siswantoro. Apresiasi Puisi-Puisi Sastra Inggris. Surakarta: Muhammadiyah

University Press, 2002. Sobur, Alex. Semiotika Komunikasi. Bandung: Remaja Rosda Karya, 2003.

APPENDICES

TABLE OF SYMBOL IN THE POEMS

Chapter of the Poem

Representamen Object Interpretant

VERITIES

Verities An innocent victim Life’s futility

Ax Individual’s life A tinge of violence

Darkest Hour Poem’s length Disaster or

looming calamity

FIRST POEM FOR YOU

Lightning Heartbeat The power of love

Water Her boyfriend’s

love Pure love

Serpent Her boyfriend’s

body The bravery

Pictures Her boyfriend’s skin The tattoos

WHAT DO WOMEN WANT

Dress Sexuality The desire of

strength & confidence

Sleeveless and Backless

Feminine sensuality Proud of her body

Garment The body Life’s identity

VERITIES

Into every life a little ax must fall.

Every dog has its choke chain.

Every cloud has its shadow.

Better dead than fed.

He who laughs, will not last.

Sticks and stones will break you,

and then the names of things will be changed.

A stitch in time saves no one.

The darkest hour comes.

First Poem for You

I like to touch your tattoos in complete

darkness, when I can’t see them. I’m sure of

where they are, know by heart the neat

lines of lightning pulsing just above

your nipple, can find, as if by instinct, the blue

swirls of water on your shoulder where a serpent

twists, facing a dragon. When I pull you

to me, taking you until we’re spent

and quiet on the sheets, I love to kiss

the pictures in your skin. They’ll last until

you’re seared to ashes; whatever persists

or turns to pain between us, they will still

be there. Such permanence is terrifying.

So I touch them in the dark; but touch them, trying.

What Do Women Want

I want a red dress.

I want it flimsy and cheap,

I want it too tight, I want to wear it

until someone tears it off me.

I want it sleeveless and backless,

this dress, so no one has to guess

what’s underneath. I want to walk down

the street past Thrifty’s and the hardware store

with all those keys glittering in the window,

past Mr. and Mrs. Wong selling day-old

donuts in their café, past the Guerra brothers

slinging pigs from the truck and onto the dolly,

hoisting the slick snouts over their shoulders.

I want to walk like I’m the only

woman on earth and I can have my pick.

I want that red dress bad.

I want it to confirm

your worst fears about me,

to show you how little I care about you

or anything except what

I want. When I find it, I’ll pull that garment

from its hanger like I’m choosing a body

to carry me into this world, through

the birth-cries and the love-cries too,

and I’ll wear it like bones, like skin,

it’ll be the goddamned

dress they bury me in.

a semiotic analysis on kim addonizio’s … semiotic analysis on kim addonizio’s poems based . on...

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